Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang future reveals Mikel Arteta power

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future is very much up in the air. The decision that is made will reveal the power that head coach Mikel Arteta holds — or, perhaps more pertinently, does not hold — at Arsenal.

After Arsene Wenger resigned, Arsenal committed to a new management structure at the club. Under Wenger, he was the be-all and end-all of the decision-making process. Every decision that the club made went through him and was sanctioned by him. If he did not agree with a particular choice or action, it did not happen.

Listen to the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast here! — Emergency Podcast: Nightmare

But Wenger was a throwback manager, someone who had influence at every level of the organisation. The modern way of running a football club includes a director of football, someone who Wenger infamously said he does not know what they do, a head of recruitment, a contract expert, and then a head coach, someone who is a part of the management structure but is tasked primarily with coaching the team.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

It is a more progressive and generally productive way to manage a football club, but it can lead to plenty of in-fighting as different individuals believe they have different levels of power within the club. Not every role is created equal. In some clubs, the head coach will have the final say. In others, it might be the sporting director. Some areas of decision-making are left untouched by other members of the club; others are free to be meddled with and interfered.

With Mikel Arteta only a matter of months into his role as the new head coach of Arsenal football club, it is not yet clear how this potential power struggle will play out. Those negotiations will have taken place during the interview stage, with certain individuals reporting to other certain individuals, but from an external perspective, no major decision has been made that reveals quite how the cards fall at the club just yet. But this summer features many crucial decisions that must be made, and they will provide a peek into the inner-workings of the club.

Chief among them is the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He is Arsenal’s best and most important player. He is also the wrong side of 30, has a year left on his contract, would command a hefty extension and could be moved on for significant money that can then be reinvested into the squad. There are many ways to go about handling Aubameyang’s future. Each of them has their own merits.

But for Arteta, as he revealed in his press conference on Thursday, there is only one result that he wants to see happen. Arteta was asked whether Arsenal have entered into contract discussions with Aubameyang. His response left no doubt:

"“We will have to do that at some stage before the end of the season for sure and we will see the intentions that we have. His intentions. Where we are sitting in that moment. I think it is difficult to predict that context right now. For me it is very easy. I want to keep him under any circumstances.”"

It is quite clear, then: Arteta wants to keep Aubameyang, no matter the price. And so, what happens with Aubameyang in this summer’s transfer window will tell us just how much power and influence Arteta has at the club, both in regards to the decision-making process with the other management at the club and the players. Does he have the final say on recruitment policy? Can he convince Aubameyang that Arsenal is the place for him? Will Raul Sanllehi or Edu Gaspar, the Head of Football and Technical Director, opt for a different avenue and overrule their head coach.

Next. Arsenal Vs Portsmouth: 5 things we learned. dark

Under Wenger, it was quite plain how Arsenal were run. He was the head and everything else followed in behind. But now in the second era of new head coaches at the club, the picture is far less clear. Aubameyang’s future, however, and how it is handled and what comes of his looming contract negotiations, will help to clear the murky waters.

Home/Arsenal News